Lent Days 27 and 28: Just a Little Bit of Meditation Goes a Long Way . . .

This morning I awoke to then the news that our bank account was overdrawn.  This never feels good.  I'm glad I didn't know about it before going to sleep, but my dreams were a bit rocky so perhaps I knew it instinctively.

I carried around that feeling of unease all morning.

I had my alarm set to wake up early enough to listen to day 2 of the Oprah/Deepak meditation and even took my bath last night to shave off more time.  I didn't move very fast, though, and stayed in bed longer than I should have.  (It was just so warm and cozy!)  My backup meditation app wouldn't open quickly enough for my liking so I just set a 9 minute timer on my phone and did my best to bliss out in the quiet mind without falling asleep.

I rarely take a lunch break at work, but since the library was closed due to testing, I took my laptop to the quiet back room and logged on to today's meditational link.

The message was pretty simple: "Success Increases Love".  "I am here to bring more love into the world."  The Sanskrit mantra was "Aham Prema" which means, "I Am Love".

Deepak said that success is the ability to love and be loved.  I need to love myself on the road to success.  I invite love to flow through my heart.

"Find the seed of bliss within and follow it."  We were asked to focus on our passion.  My passion is service to others.  I know I fall short of this from time to time.  I have owed my mom some help at her place for WAY too long.  (Sorry, Mom!!!)  I fluctuate between wanting to help others and wanting to get the hell away from them. (Not directed at you, Mom.)  :)

Silence and solitude is bliss, but so is connection.

Yesterday's message was "Success is a Living Reality."  We were advised to view success not as an outer goal but to learn to experience it as an inner state of being that can be lived right now.  What is important to me?  Knowing this through self-awareness points my life in the right direction.
Again and again.

Today Deepak said to think about a person or memory in which we were filled with happiness.  I thought about a time last summer when Jake surprised me by taking me on a "gondola" ride around the patio area at church, whistling a song and using a pole to guide us.  He was fun and gentle and loving.  I think I was grinning like a dog who gets to stick her head out the car window.  Deepak said that these feelings/memories are our possessions and we can access them whenever we want to.

After the message follows about 15 minutes of quiet meditational music.  I breathe in and out, repeating the mantra and being nice but strict with my brain when it wants to jump to the "to do" list or other random thoughts.  I am happy to announce that once the meditation was over, the anxiety in my stomach was gone.  I'm glad I made the decision to "take a lunch" today.

Thanks for listening.